THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. Congress has just passed and sent to my
desk two bills concerning the use of stem cells in biomedical research.
These bills illustrate both the promise and perils we face in the age of
biotechnology. In this new era, our challenge is to harness the power of
science to ease human suffering without sanctioning the practices that
violate the dignity of human life. (Applause.)

In 2001, I spoke to the American people and set forth a new policy on stem
cell research that struck a balance between the needs of science and the
demands of conscience. When I took office, there was no federal funding
for human embryonic stem cell research. Under the policy I announced five
years ago, my administration became the first to make federal funds
available for this research, yet only on embryonic stem cell lines derived
from embryos that had already been destroyed.

My administration has made available more than $90 million for research on
these lines. This policy has allowed important research to go forward
without using taxpayer funds to encourage the further deliberate
destruction of human embryos.

One of the bills Congress has passed builds on the progress we have made
over the last five years. So I signed it into law. (Applause.) Congress
has also passed a second bill that attempts to overturn the balanced policy
I set. This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the
hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses a moral boundary
that our decent society needs to respect, so I vetoed it. (Applause.)

Like all Americans, I believe our nation must vigorously pursue the
tremendous possibility that science offers to cure disease and improve the
lives of millions. We have opportunities to discover cures and treatments
that were unthinkable generations ago. Some scientists believe that one
source of these cures might be embryonic stem cell research. Embryonic
stem cells have the ability to grow into specialized adult tissues, and
this may give them the potential to replace damaged or defective cells or
body parts and treat a variety of diseases.

Yet we must also remember that embryonic stem cells come from human embryos
that are destroyed for their cells. Each of these human embryos is a
unique human life with inherent dignity and matchless value. We see that
value in the children who are with us today. Each of these children began
his or her life as a frozen embryo that was created for in vitro
fertilization, but remained unused after the fertility treatments were
complete. Each of these children was adopted while still an embryo, and
has been blessed with the chance to grow up in a loving family.

These boys and girls are not spare parts. (Applause.) They remind us of what is lost when embryos are destroyed in the name of research. They remind us that we all begin our lives as a small collection of cells. And
they remind us that in our zeal for new treatments and cures, America must
never abandon our fundamental morals.

Some people argue that finding new cures for disease requires the
destruction of human embryos like the ones that these families adopted. I
disagree. I believe that with the right techniques and the right policies,
we can achieve scientific progress while living up to our ethical
responsibilities. That's what I sought in 2001, when I set forth my
administration's policy allowing federal funding for research on embryonic
stem cell lines where the life and death decision had already been made.

This balanced approach has worked. Under this policy, 21 human embryonic
stem cell lines are currently in use in research that is eligible for
federal funding. Each of these lines can be replicated many times. And as
a result, the National Institutes of Health have helped make more than 700
shipments to researchers since 2001. There is no ban on embryonic stem
cell research. To the contrary, even critics of my policy concede that
these federally funded lines are being used in research every day by
scientists around the world. My policy has allowed us to explore the
potential of embryonic stem cells, and it has allowed America to continue
to lead the world in this area.

Since I announced my policy in 2001, advances in scientific research have
also shown the great potential of stem cells that are derived without
harming human embryos. My administration has expanded the funding of
research into stem cells that can be drawn from children, adults, and the
blood in umbilical cords, with no harm to the donor. And these stem cells
are already being used in medical treatments.

With us today are patients who have benefited from treatments with adult
and umbilical-cord-blood stem cells. And I want to thank you all for
coming. (Applause.)

They are living proof that effective medical science can also be ethical.
Researchers are now also investigating new techniques that could allow
doctors and scientists to produce stem cells just as versatile as those
derived from human embryos. One technique scientists are exploring would
involve reprogramming an adult cell. For example, a skin cell to function
like an embryonic stem cell. Science offers the hope that we may one day
enjoy the potential benefits of embryonic stem cells without destroying
human life.

We must continue to explore these hopeful alternatives and advance the
cause of scientific research while staying true to the ideals of a decent
and humane society. The bill I sign today upholds these humane ideals and
draws an important ethical line to guide our research. The Fetus Farming
Prohibition Act was sponsored by Senators Santorum and Brownback -- both
who are here. (Applause.) And by Congressman Dave Weldon, along with
Nathan Deal. Thank you, Congressmen. (Applause.) This good law prohibits
one of the most egregious abuses in biomedical research, the trafficking in
human fetuses that are created with the sole intent of aborting them to
harvest their parts. Human beings are not a raw material to be exploited,
or a commodity to be bought or sold, and this bill will help ensure that we
respect the fundamental ethical line.

I'm disappointed that Congress failed to pass another bill that would have
promoted good research. This bill was sponsored by Senator Santorum and
Senator Arlen Specter and Congressman Roscoe Bartlett. Thanks for coming,
Roscoe. (Applause.) It would have authorized additional federal funding
for promising new research that could produce cells with the abilities of
embryonic cells, but without the destruction of human embryos. This is an
important piece of legislation. This bill was unanimously approved by the
Senate; it received 273 votes in the House of Representatives, but was
blocked by a minority in the House using procedural maneuvers. I'm
disappointed that the House failed to authorize funding for this vital and
ethical research.

It makes no sense to say that you're in favor of finding cures for terrible
diseases as quickly as possible, and then block a bill that would authorize
funding for promising and ethical stem cell research. At a moment when
ethical alternatives are becoming available, we cannot lose the opportunity
to conduct research that would give hope to those suffering from terrible
diseases, and help move our nation beyond the current controversies over
embryonic stem cell research.

We must pursue this research. And so I direct the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, Secretary Leavitt, and the Director of the National
Institutes of Health to use all the tools at their disposal to aid the
search for stem cell techniques that advance promising medical science in
an ethical and morally responsible way. (Applause.)

Unfortunately, Congress has sent me a bill that fails to meet this ethical
test. This legislation would overturn the balanced policy on embryonic
stem cell research that my administration has followed for the past five
years. This bill would also undermine the principle that Congress, itself,
has followed for more than a decade, when it has prohibited federal funding
for research that destroys human embryos.

If this bill would have become law, American taxpayers would, for the first
time in our history, be compelled to fund the deliberate destruction of
human embryos. And I'm not going to allow it. (Applause.)

I made it clear to the Congress that I will not allow our nation to cross
this moral line. I felt like crossing this line would be a mistake, and
once crossed, we would find it almost impossible to turn back. Crossing
the line would needlessly encourage a conflict between science and ethics
that can only do damage to both, and to our nation as a whole. If we're to
find the right ways to advance ethical medical research, we must also be
willing, when necessary, to reject the wrong ways. So today, I'm keeping
the promise I made to the American people by returning this bill to
Congress with my veto.

As science brings us ever closer to unlocking the secrets of human biology,
it also offers temptations to manipulate human life and violate human
dignity. Our conscience and history as a nation demand that we resist this
temptation. America was founded on the principle that we are all created
equal, and endowed by our Creator with the right to life. We can advance
the cause of science while upholding this founding promise. We can harness
the promise of technology without becoming slaves to technology. And we
can ensure that science serves the cause of humanity instead of the other
way around.

America pursues medical advances in the name of life, and we will achieve
the great breakthroughs we all seek with reverence for the gift of life. I
believe America's scientists have the ingenuity and skill to meet this
challenge. And I look forward to working with Congress and the scientific
community to achieve these great and noble goals in the years ahead.